Cambridge Valley

Grandma Moses, Cambridge Valley, 1942, oil on high-density fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Kallir Family in Memory of Otto Kallir, 2021.71.1, © Grandma Moses Properties Co., NY
Copied Grandma Moses, Cambridge Valley, 1942, oil on high-density fiberboard, 27 × 31 × 1 in. (68.6 × 78.7 × 2.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Kallir Family in Memory of Otto Kallir, 2021.71.1, © Grandma Moses Properties Co., NY

Artwork Details

Title
Cambridge Valley
Artist
Date
1942
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
27 × 31 × 1 in. (68.6 × 78.7 × 2.5 cm)
Copyright
© Grandma Moses Properties Co., NY
Credit Line
Gift of the Kallir Family in Memory of Otto Kallir
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on high-density fiberboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — valley
  • Landscape — river
  • Figure group
Object Number
2021.71.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2021.71.1

Artwork Description

As a beginning painter, Moses struggled to reconcile sweeping scenic views with the details that made them unique--houses, roads, people, and so on. An unexpected solution presented itself to her one day as she gazed into the mirrorlike reflection of a chrome automobile hubcap. There, in the convex dome, she saw an expanse of New York's Cambridge Valley, flattened and condensed into a composition resembling an unfurled patchwork quilt.

The revelation guided her towards her signature style, a squarish format wherein the foreground, middle ground, and distance have almost equal weight. This pictorial invention, in tandem with Moses's exceptional grasp of seasonal light and color, would confirm her as an artist of originality and importance.

Exhibition Label for Grandma Moses: A Good Day's Work October 24, 2025 -- July 12, 2026